Category: Aquaculture
We’re supporting coastal communities to diversify their livelihoods, developing lucrative sea cucumber and seaweed farms with private sector partners as a way of reducing fishing pressure and alleviating poverty.
Aquaculture under the stars in Tampolove
By Johanna Medvey, Blue Ventures volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar We bump along the sandy tracks leading away from Andavadoaka, perched in our trusty ox carts as the sun rises and tinges the baobab trees pink. Our group of nine volunteers and three staff...
On the road: tales from your semi-nomadic Conservation Coordinator
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar (All photos courtesy of Brian Jones) After almost six years of living in remote villages throughout Madagascar, the modern amenities of Toliara, like hot showers and wifi, were a welcome relief when I...
Entering the third dimension in Belo sur Mer
By Jérémie Bossert, Belo Sur Mer Coordinator, Madagascar Finally Madagascar has a democratically elected president! Things here have a tendency to move slowly, be it getting an authorisation signed, ordering a new generator part, or even electing a president. However,...
Development of a community aquaculture project: going beyond for real sustainability
by Minnie Lanting, ex-Velondriake Programme Coordinator, and Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Consultant, Madagascar This is Blue Ventures’ approach to promoting sustainable alternative livelihoods through our community-based aquaculture programme. Instead of giving one-off donations or handing out money to local fishers, the...
Spicing up aquaculture: experiences from our regional workshop in Zanzibar
by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Communications Officer, London As I stepped off the plane in Stone Town, Zanzibar, the heat hit me like a slap the face and I was dazzled by the sunlight – I thought to myself “Toto...
Staff Q&A with Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Advisor
In the fifteenth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Antoine Rougier, our Aquaculture Advisor (previously our Aquaculture Coordinator for 3 years in Madagascar), some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your...
Tuck School of Business students study aquaculture in Madagascar
In March, five students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth came to Madagascar to work alongside Blue Ventures’ community-based aquaculture project as part of their First Year Project. These highly experienced business students came to Madagascar, and got...
24 hours of aquaculture site visits
In March, five students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth came to Madagascar to work alongside Blue Ventures’ community-based aquaculture project as part of their First Year Project. These highly experienced business students came to Madagascar, and got...
Aquaculture in Madagascar by the Tuck School of Business
In March, five students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth came to Madagascar to work alongside Blue Ventures’ community-based aquaculture project as part of their First Year Project. These highly experienced business students came to Madagascar, and got...
Have you ever encountered a live sea cucumber?
by Taylor Mayol, Communications and Programme Development Officer, Madagascar I hadn’t either until just a few months ago. I knew I was in for a wild ride during my fellowship after I dove into a crystal clear turquoise bay in...
Farming seaweed without harming the forest…
By Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Project Coordinator, Madagascar The link between seaweed farming and the forests of Madagascar might not appear obvious at first, but when examined a bit more closely, it starts to make much more sense. Seaweed farming is...
Sea cucumbers paving the way to education
by Fran Humber, Conservation Programmes Manager, London Working from the London office of Blue Ventures, it can be easy to forget, underneath the piles of emails and reports, how the projects our colleagues in the field work hard on actually...
2012: the year of the sea cucumber
by Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Project Coordinator, Madagascar With a growing cycle of 8 to 12 months, Holothuria scabra or sea cucumber farming requires of those involved willingness and much patience until they can finally reap the fruits of their labour....
Another generation of sea cucumbers for Tampolove!
The 26th of September was an eventful day in Tampolove with the delivery of juvenile sea cucumbers for the 12 farming teams.